Elaine Chao: One woman’s rise from immigrant roots to the presidential Cabinet

Knowing Elaine Chao from afar for many years, there were a lot of words I would to describe her: smart, tough, accomplished and, yes, badass.

Knowing Elaine Chao from afar for many years, there are a lot of words I would use to describe her: smart, tough, accomplished and, yes, badass. After all, she was George W. Bush’s labor secretary for two terms – the longest-serving member of his Cabinet and the first female Asian-American in any presidential cabinet in US history. She is now President Donald Trump’s transportation secretary and one of four women in his Cabinet. But spending time with Chao in her office, I was immediately struck by something I did not expect – how candid she is about her vulnerabilities and anxiety, especially about when she was a young Chinese immigrant. “I remember how tough it was to try to learn a new culture, a new language and just to adapt to, like, ordinary daily stuff like the food. Like, most Chinese don’t eat meat between breads,” she told me with a laugh. Eight-year-old Chao started her journey to America on an overnight train in Taiwan with her mother and two sisters in 1961. They then boarded a cargo ship to cross the Pacific Ocean to California before finally reaching their destination: New York. “As an adult looking back and seeing my mother who was only like 27, you know how frightening it must have been as the only woman aboard this cargo ship with three young girls? I mean, that’s pretty rough,” she said.